Biden Picks New Head of Social Security — Will Leadership Change Delay Your Benefits?
President Biden selected former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley as the new head of the Social Security Administration, the White House confirmed with Reuters on Wednesday, July 26. The SSA controls a $1 trillion budget and distributes benefits to over 70 million beneficiaries who rely on Social Security as a major source of household income.
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Social Security benefits automatically go out according to the same monthly schedule set by the SSA, and a change in leadership shouldn’t cause a delay in your benefits. If your payment is delayed, it’s likely due to a change in your banking information or because you’ve recently changed your address. Another common reason for a delay is if the Social Security office that handles your payments is experiencing a problem or slowdown in its processes, GOBankingRates previously reported.
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If your payment is delayed, the SSA says to contact your bank or financial institution first. You should contact the SSA after waiting three business days if you still haven’t received your benefit payment. Call 800-772-1213 (TTY 800-325-0778) or contact your local Social Security office.
Acting Commissioner Kilolo Kijakazi had been running the SSA since 2021, when Biden fired Trump-appointed Andrew Saul. However, the agency has suffered low morale among its employees, according to Reuters, and has received complaints of long wait times at Social Security offices.
In September, Democrat lawmakers wrote a letter to Biden urging him to pick an agency chief to address “longstanding labor-management problems” that they claimed worsened under Trump, Investment News reported.
“Under prior leadership, SSA was among the most hostile agencies in the federal government in the way it chose to implement the since-repealed anti-union executive orders from 2018,” said the letter signed by 16 senators, reported Investment News. “Employee satisfaction is falling at SSA, and SSA employees report feelings of exhaustion at among the highest rates of any federal agency.”
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Biden Picks New Head of Social Security — Will Leadership Change Delay Your Benefits?
